Symptoms during recovery

[Leila56]

Good morning, I had coiling on a ruptured aneurysm in Nov 2017. I haven’t been able to return to work as of yet. After the surgery I was limited to 10 minutes of interactions with people before becoming tired. 7 months later the symptoms have changed. If I am physically active or around other people, I begin to experience a tingling in my head where the incision and coiling are located. If I ignore the tingling in my head and continue being engaged in the event ( talking or physically moving). Within 2 hours the tears began to flow uncontrollably. The tears flow for 2 days and I am then home alone in a quiet place until the tears stop. Is this happening to anyone else? How long is this phase of low mental stimulation? Trying to keep my spirits up but this is emotionally difficult

[malalatete]

When you say 'the tears flow uncontrollably' do you mean that you get upset, or that your tear glands produce tears which run down your face, but with no emotional involvement?

If the former then you would probably benefit from a course of CBT or person centred counselling to reduce the anxiety that is causing the emotional upset.

If the latter then this could be a functional disorder albeit a pretty strange one. You would need to seek out a neurologist and/or neuropsychiatrist who deals with FND to see whether they could offer any treatment or therapy.

[Leila56 in reply to malalatete]

The crying is a result of overstimulation. I am not upset or angered, the crying happens naturally. It will last for 2 days until my body/nerves are calm. What is FND?

[malalatete in reply to Leila56]

Functional neurological disorder. It is when symptoms that are obviously neurological in origin affect the body but no structural cause can be found. It can cause a whole range of symptoms and is often triggered by stress (in the wider sense of the word) on the body.

[Leila56 in reply to malalatete]

That sounds accurate. The nurse said the crying could be a result of me stressing my nerves. Although she was unfamiliar with a patient reporting these symptoms. Then apologized for Yale Hospital not having a support group. Curious about others reaction to being overstimulated. And if I’m causing damage or slowing my recovery process.

[Saffynix]

Hi Leila, can I ask how old you are as I’ve not had a Rupture I had coiling on a 10 mm annie I was 64 at the time and it took me nearly 2 yrs to get back 100% I was like you first 6 months crying no energy what so ever and hated crowds , I’m sure as you get older it takes longer to recover , I’m now waiting to have a second Annie coiled and I’m now 71so a little nervous but learnt a lot from my first, I hope you feel better soon , just remember you’ve had major brain surgery and need plenty of rest.

[Leila56 in reply to Saffynix]

I am 56 years old. Sorry to hear about your upcoming second surgery. This is a difficult recovery process. Traditionally, I have been very active in my life; preaching, Adjunct Professor, loves outdoor concerts and community service. Since the surgery I am unable to engage in these activities. I’m constantly reminded to rest. Not sure what that means. Avoid people, places and activities? The financial burden of not working is also stressful. Sorry to vent. How did you REST during recovery?

[Saffynix in reply to Leila56]

went by how I felt, in and out of bed at first then sat in garden I was lucky weather was good, I didn’t get dressed for about a month .was fortunate was retired. I started doing to much ended up in tears mostly. I went to drs as couldn’t understand why so weary and it was a locum, he said your brain is like the engine on a boat ....a bomb has hit the engine room and everything on the ship has stopped so all work on boat is on stand by till engine room is fixed which can take months , that really helped me and my family as because coiling only no scar or bandage so you look normal. You are still early days after what you’ve gone through .

[Leila56 in reply to Saffynix]

Thank you for the analogy. I am working on patience and restrictions. Thank you very much. Your comment has made a difference in my day.

[Crissypreso in reply to Leila56]

Hi Leila I had the same coil operation last September i was in Walton hospital. Since then I have had several seizures am on lots of medication and suffer some anxiety too but n am trying to pull myself to rights am sure we shall all get well 👌👌👌